Disclaimer: The characters are mine, the Los Angeles mall is not.

A/N: I apologize if this one's confusing, what with the whole jumping between characters thing.

Chapter 6

The next day, Anthony nearly ran into Vivian's office. "We've got two more."

Vivian looked up from her paperwork. "Are they connected?"

"I think so. The sheer fact that they look unrelated means that they probably are."

"What have we got?"

He set a file on her desk and opened it to reveal a stack of crime scene photos. "Howard Ingram, 46, marketing executive, looks like poison. We'll know more after the autopsy. Plus, Jonathan O'Reilly, 33, Ingram's assistant, shot in the back of the head. Looks like the killer waited around after killing Ingram, and O'Reilly came in, found the body, and was shot."

Vivian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you suppose that O'Reilly was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was he on the list to begin with?"

Tobias was formulating a plan. He had to get out of there while there was still time. A few hours ago, Darien had told him that two more were dead, but it still wasn't over yet. So, he had a plan all figured out. He was going to escape. It would be set into motion when an orderly brought in a tray of food for him.

Twenty minutes later, the door began to open. Tobias stood behind the door, hoping, praying, that the people behind the mirror couldn't tip off the orderly, or better yet, that there was no one up there at all. He seemed to get his wish as his plan played out exactly as he had imagined. The orderly walked in, his back to Tobias, carrying a tray with something that looked like it shouldn't be eaten. He looked around the seemingly empty room with mild confusion. By the time he caught Tobias' movement in the mirror, it was too late.

Tobias delivered a wild karate chop to the back of the orderly's neck. It wasn't enough to bring him down, but it caught him off guard and made him stumble forward. It was all the opportunity Tobias needed. In a flash, he bolted from the room and down the hall. He wished he had been more cognizant during the trip to the room, because he had no real idea how to get out of the building. He skittered around a corner and grinned as he spotted a green EXIT sign above a door.

He pushed the door open. Stairs. Good. He ran down three flights two steps at a time. On the first floor landing, there was another sign advertising freedom. He cautiously peered through the small window in the door. Beyond it, he could he the lobby. That part looked familiar, at least. He nonchalantly strolled towards the front door. There was a good chance that they wouldn't even know he wasn't supposed to be down here.

He got a few glances as he passed the front desk. People started talking amongst themselves. They were figuring it out, no doubt. He resisted the urge to run until he was a good distance down the front drive. After one last glance backwards, he bolted down the street, not sure where he was headed.

Rebekah stared at the computer screen in front of her, unsure of what to do. They had to find a way to connect all the victims. The only ones who had even met each other were Ingram and O'Reilly. Almost without thinking, she began a search for newspaper articles. Maybe these people had interacted at an event or something without even realizing it. 'Keywords?' the search engine asked.

"Hmm…" Rebekah pondered that for a second. She typed in 'Hayward, MacNamara, Lambert, Ingram, O'Reilly'. She took a drink from her water bottle while she waited for the search to find results. She almost spit her mouthful of water on the screen when a small article popped up, dated 1852. She was momentarily confused as to how it had gotten on the Internet until she remembered that UCLA's History Department had been working on some project involving old news articles.

The initial shock dissipated, she looked closer at the article.

'Following last week's tragic mine accident that resulted in the death of mine owner Hiram Erikson, a new claim has been staked on the newly unowned mine. A group of six individuals set up camp on the land, claiming it as their own. The new owners are Nathaniel Hayward, Ephraim Avery, Delilah O'Reilly, William Lambert, Elias Ingram, and Duncan MacNamara. They report that the mine contains a massive vein of gold. They show no concern that the mine might cave in again.'

Rebekah stared at the article, her jaw hanging open in muted shock. The names! Except for Avery, they were all names of victims. It all began to sink in. There was going to be another murder. She jumped out her chair and ran to the doorway as she spotted Anthony walking down the hall.

"Anthony!" she called. "I figured it out! I know how they're connected!"

That got his attention, and he sprinted to look at the computer screen she was furiously pointing at. He read it twice before looking back up at her. "So the killer…"

"Is a descendant of Erikson," Rebekah finished for him.

Anthony nodded. "I'll track him down." He turned to go, then stopped as he remembered something. "Call Fairview, tell them to release Tobias."

As Anthony left, Rebekah dialed the number of the mental hospital. Upon reaching the receptionist, she said she was calling regarding Tobias Oxenstierna. After waiting for the receptionist to search through records, and having to spell Tobias' last name, she was informed, "I'm sorry ma'am, he's no longer here."

"What?" Rebekah asked.

"Seems he escaped about a half hour ago. We can't seem to locate him."

"Um… Ok. Thanks." She hung up and headed for her car.

Rebekah pulled in the drive of Fairview Mental Hospital still unsure of why she was there. She walked up to the main desk.

"Hi. I'm with the Los Angeles Crime Lab. I understand you had an escape earlier?"

The receptionist nodded. "Schizophrenic. Funny name. I hear he took down an orderly to get out of his room."

"Do you still have his personal belongings?"

She nodded again and sent an orderly to get them. He returned with a box containing Tobias' street clothes, cell phone, wallet, and the like. Rebekah picked up the whole box, and with a quick "thank you", headed back to her car. She wasn't entirely sure what she was planning to do with the box of things, but she hoped that there was something inside that would tell her where Tobias was planning on going. She sat in the parking lot for a while, peering into the box. She felt wrong looking through her friend's stuff, so she just stared at it. Suddenly a name drifted through her mind.

Avery.

There was going to be another murder, and she was sure that Tobias would try to prevent it. If she found Avery, she'd find Tobias. She quickly called Anthony.

"Any progress on the identity of our killer?"

"I think so. The DMV has record of a Jacob Hiram Erikson. We sent PD out to pick him up, but he wasn't at home or his place of work."

Rebekah took a breath. "I think he's out killing again. All the names in the article are accounted for accept for Avery." She paused, not sure how to explain the next part. "And, um, Tobias is gone, escaped. I'm sure he's trying to stop the last murder. Do we have any idea who it might be?"

"Not yet, but I'll keep working on it."

"Ok. I'm going to keep trying to find Tobias."

Tobias slowed to a walk when he felt he was far enough from Fairview. He really wished he could be wearing anything besides his white scrubs. He felt so conspicuous. On top of that, he was wandering around LA barefoot.

Darien walked alongside him, looking nervous. "It won't be long now. He's already watching her, following her."

"Who?" Tobias asked.

Darien shrugged. "Some woman. I think she's the last one."

"So this is my last chance to catch him?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty much."

"Great."

Rebekah jumped as her phone rang. The caller ID said 'Anthony'.

"Anything?" she asked.

"Yep, out of pure luck. I went into the break room for coffee and the newspaper was on the table. Big story, some woman talking about her ancestor's stake in a gold mine. Charlene Avery-Donahue. Her husband says she's out shopping at the mall."

"Thanks, Anthony."

Darien stopped suddenly.

"What is it?"

He didn't answer right away. He pointed down a perpendicular street. "Head for the mall."

Tobias looked at him like he was crazy. "He's going to kill her in broad daylight? At the mall? Aren't there a few witnesses?"

"Don't ask questions, just go!" Darien insisted.

Tobias started running, hoping this time he'd make it there in time.

Rebekah cruised around the mall parking lot. She didn't even know what or who she was looking for. Hopefully she'd find it before it was too late.

Where the hell was Tobias?

Tobias slowed as he hit the mall parking lot. He turned to Darien. "Where now?"

Darien pointed to a woman heading towards her car, parked in a less populated part of the lot. "Her."

Tobias took off running again, trying to come up with a better story, since his last attempt to save a hysterical woman didn't work like he planned, and now he was dressed like an escaped mental patient. Who in their right mind would trust him?

He quickened his pace when he saw a figure in black approaching the woman. She was twenty feet from her car, she could make it… no, she couldn't. Tobias ran as fast as he could, not noticing the car approaching the doomed woman and sinister man from the other direction.

The dark man grabbed the woman, and covered her mouth, stifling her screams as he dragged her around behind her car. Tobias kept running, vaguely aware of footsteps behind him. He reached the other side of the car where the man had the woman pinned down, with his hands squeezing her throat. Tobias came up behind them, and grabbed the man by the shoulders, pulling him up, and releasing the woman, who started crawling underneath her car.

The man turned and punched Tobias in the jaw. He staggered backwards, then returned a blow to the man's solar plexus. He doubled over and reached underneath his coat. Tobias saw the flash of metal followed by a gunshot. It took him a second to realize he was still alive as the serial killer dropped to the ground. He looked to his right, where Rebekah still had her gun trained on the spot where Jacob Erikson had stood.

"Thanks."

"Any time," she replied.